Thunderboxes are go: Nation's first 'Looseum' opens in Brisbane

It wasn’t that long ago a trip to the loo meant braving the wildlife to walk down to the outhouse; greater Brisbane only got widespread access to sewerage services in the late 1960s, after work began on the city’s sewerage network in 1914.

Pictures of more than 120 thunderboxes still standing across the country were sent in, along with hundreds of artworks and stories dedicated to the backyard dunny, all of which have contributed to the nation’s first museum dedicated to thunderbox, which opened in Brisbane on Tuesday.

“Some are being used as tool sheds or chicken coops and there’s even the rare dunny still in use – sawdust and all,” Ms Cull said.

Many people sent in photos of their backyard dunnies, including Danny, in his leaning dunny at Bundaberg.

“We heard memories of trips and spills by the night soil man, pranks played on parents, and kids running scared to the backyard dunny at night.”

Lynn Nicol grew up in in Brisbane’s eastern suburb of Balmoral in the 1950s and has fond memories of “dunny pick up day”, when the night soil man would collect the neighbourhood waste and load the pans into his truck.

“The truck would go down Main Avenue and do a sharp right hand turn in to Tandoor Street,” she shared with QUU.

“For the uninitiated if the driver took the corner too fast all the pans would fly out the door.

“We would often hear the driver scraping up the contents with the lids and my family would have a good laugh feeling a little sorry for him.”

A woman leaving a Coopers Plains dunny, nursing a headache.

Another contributor, Ian Crowe, shared his memory of his family’s outdoor structure which was always painted “dunny blue” and housed a “family of green tree frogs that kept an evil eye on all that transpired”.

Dale Kerans wrote he had “fond memories” of the “Dunny Men” at Christmas time and would often leave them some beer to say thank you for a “dirty job well done”.

Rob Googe wrote the smell of honeysuckle still reminded him of hot summer night trips to the toilet after his mum grew the scented vine on his family’s thunderbox to mask any “nefarious smells”.

The Looseum also features three thunderboxes restored to their former glory.

Ms Cull said the rescued dunnies came from Carina, Alderley and Toogoolawah in south-east Queensland and were in a “terrible condition...destined for certain demolition”.

“It’s great we could save this piece of Australian history for future generations,” she said.

Wynnum Manly and Districts Men’s Shed helped with the “challenging restoration” project and President David Westlake estimated one of the dunnies was about 100 years old.

“The guys have had a great time reminiscing as we worked, sharing a few stories about getting caught on the loo by possums, spiders, or worse – the night soil man,” he said.

The Looseum is part of the Innovation Centre precinct at the QUU Luggage Point Sewage Treatment Plant in Brisbane.

Jump online for more information and to read more stories submitted during the Great Backyard Dunny Search.